Fractals are characterized by
therepetition of similar
patterns at ever-diminishing scales. Fractal geometry has emerged as one
of the most exciting frontiers on the border between mathematics and
information technology and can be seen in many of the swirling
patterns produced by computer graphics. It has become a new tool for
modeling in biology, geology, and other natural sciences. Anthropologists
have observed that the patterns produced in different cultures
can be characterized by specific design themes. In Europe and America, we
often see cities laid out in a grid pattern of straight streets and
right-angle corner.

In
contrast, traditional African settlements tend to use fractal
structuresócircles of circles of circular dwellings, rectangular walls
enclosing ever-smaller rectangles, and streets in which broad avenues
branch down to tiny footpaths with striking geometric repetition. These
indigenous fractals are not limited to architecture;
their recursive patterns echo throughout many disparate
African designs and knowledge systems. Ron Eglash, AFRICAN FRACTALS,
Rutgers University Press, 1999.

AFRICAN FRACTALS is an introduction
to fractal geometry, its various expressions in African cultures, and an
exploration of the implications of these designs for cultural theory, math
education, and African development. Drawing on interviews with
African designers, artists, and scientists, Ron Eglash
investigates fractals in African architecture, traditional hairstyling,
textiles, sculpture, painting, carving, metalwork, religion, games,
practical craft, quantitative techniques, and symbolic systems. He also
examines the political and social implications of the existence of African
fractal geometry. His book makes a unique contribution to the study of
mathematics, African culture, anthropology, and computer
simulations.

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Ron Eglash is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Studies at Ohio State
University.